Turn-table



(No Model.)

G. ROHRBACH.

TURN TABLE.-

No. 517,304. Patented Mar. 27, 1894.

N QRN.

A TTOHNE Y S.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GABRIEL EonRBAoH,v or DEL Rio, TEXAS.

TU RN-TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 517,304, dated March 2'?, 189 4. Applicationlled December 2,1893. Serial No. 492,589. (No model.)

lmotive engines end to end; and the object of my invention'is to provide a simple lever attachment for an ordinary turn-table, by which one man may easily turn the table and its load, and'also to arrange the lever mechanism so that it may be easily locked in place when not in use and will not be likely to getout of order.

To these ends my invention consists of cer'- tain features of construction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in lall the views.

Figure 1 is a broken plan View of a turntable provided with my improved lever attachments. Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of the lever attachment. Fig. 3 is a vdetail sectional elevation of the lever attachment, as applied to the turn-table. Fig. 4-is a sectional elevation on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a detail inverted plan of one of the catches which engage the rail.

The turn-table has the usual circular track rail 10, on which is mounted the usual bed 11, which is pivoted at the center in the customary manner, as shown at 12, and has also the 4ordinary track rails 13 which are adapted to align with the terminal or stationary rails 14 on diametrically opposite sides of the circular track. On the bed 11, near opposite ends, are the fixed brackets 15, each bracket .Y having at topk and bottomvhorizontally prowith the upper arm 16 when the lever plate is in normal position, and this lug is adapted to be engaged by a catch 22 carried bya slide 23 which is held to slip longitudinally on the upper arm 16 and, by forcing the catch into engagement with the lug 21, the lever plate and lever are prevented from turning. The lower end of the shaft 17 is provided with a crank arm 24 which projects laterally, and if the single arrangement of rail catches is used,

as illustrated at the left-hand in Fig. 1, the

crank arm extends from one side only of the shaft, but if the double arrangement is used it extends from both sides of the shaft, as illustrated in Figs. 2 to 4 and as shown at the righthand in Fig. 1. -As shown at the right-hand in Fig. 1, the lever arrangement is provided with two catch plates, which are similar, and Iwill therefore describe one catch plate and its connection with one end of the crank arm 24. The crank arm has pivoted to its outer end a rod 25 which extends substantially parallel with the rail 10 and is, at its other end, pivoted to the crank arm 26 of an oscillating catch plate 27 which has a strengthening rib on its upper face and has on its under face and near opposite edges teeth 28, which are of a generally triangular shape, With their points inward, and these teeth are adapted, when the catch plate is turned, to grip the rail 10. The connecting rod 25 has a vertical post 29 secured thereto, on the top of which is a laterally extending quadrant or catch plate 30, in the center of whichquadrant is a notch 31, adapted to engage a lever 32 which is of spring material and is fulcrumed on the post, as shown at 33. The lever 32 has sufficient lateral movement to permit it to spring out of the notch 31 and swing inward opposite the ends of the quadrant, as shown in Fig. 3. The lower end of the lever 32 is pivoted to a rod 34, which also connects with the crank 26. By moving the lever 32 into avertical position and engaging it in the notch 31 the crank 26 is turned into-a position substantially at right angles to the rail 10, and when in this position the catch plate does not tightly grip the rail but may slide freely thereon, even though the shaft 17 and crank arm 24 be turned, but by throwing the lever 32 into engagement with either end of IOO the quadrant 30 the crank 26 is brought to such an angle in relation to the rail 10 that the movement of the crank arm 24 in one direction causes the teeth 28 of the catch plate to firmly grip the rail, so that the catch plate does not slip, but the movement is imparted to the bed l1 which swings on its pivot. If a single catch plate is used, as shown at the left-hand in Fig. 1, the table is turned by adjusting the crank 26 to bring itinto operative position, and then moving the lever 20 backward and forward, this movement causing the catch plate 27 to first slide freelyon the rail into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, and then grip the rail so that the return stroke of the lever causes the bed 11 to turn. When, however, two catch plates are used, as shown at the righthand in Fig. 1, the cranks 2G are projected from opposite sides of the rail and connected np with both ends of the crank arm 24, and then the catch plates will work alternately by the movement of the lever 20, one swinging forward while the other is grippingthe rail, and in this way a constant movement is imparted to the bed 1l.

It will be seen that the principle of the device is the same, whether one or more catch plates are used. It will be at once observed that this arrangement of the lever 20 alfords a great deal of power and thus, when operated, may easily turn a table and the heavy load thereon.

The table has at one end a suitable catch 35, which is pivoted to the bed, as shown at 36, and which may be dropped into engagement with an adjacent timber, or other article, so as to hold the bed in a stationary po silion when its tracks are brought into align ment with the rails 14.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecnre by Letters Patentl. The combination, with the circular track rail and the revoluble bed, of an oscillating shaft mounted on the bed, a lever to turn the shaft, a catch plate mounted on the rail and provided with opposite raileng`aging teeth, and an operative connection between the shaft and the catch plate, whereby the catch plate is alternately made to grip and release the rail, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the circular track rail and the revoluble bed, of an oscillating shaft carried by the bed, a lever to turn the shaft, a catch plate mounted on the rail and provided with teeth on opposite sides of the rail, a crank and rod connection between the shaft and the catch plate, and a lever mechanism for shifting the angle of the plate in relation to the rail, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the circular track rail and the revoluble bed, of a bracket mounted on the bed, an oscillating shaft mounted vertically in the bracket, a lever to turn the shaft, a catch plate held to oscillate on the rail, the plate having opposite teeth to engage the rail, a crank connection between the catch plate and the shaft, anda lever mechanism for shifting the angle of the catch plate, substantially as described. y

4. The combination, with the bed, the bracket thereon, the oscillating lever, and the mechanism operated by the lever to turn the bed, of a locking device to fix the position of the lever, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the bed, the bracket thereon, the oscillating lever mounted on the bracket, and the mechanism actuated by the lever to turn the bed, of a lng con nected with the lever, and a slidable catch mounted on the bracket to engage the lug, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the rail, the revolnble bed thereon, the oscillating shaft on the bed, the catch plate carried by the shaft and provided with opposite teeth to engage the rail, and the crank of the catch plate, of a connecting rod extending from the crank on the shaft to the crank of the catch plate, a post on the connecting rod, a lever mounted on the post, and a rod connecting the lever with the crank of the catch plate, substantially as described.

GABRIEL ROI-IRBACII.

Witnesses:

I. A. Dnvvns, E. A. JONES. 

